Sat 1/30-4/24
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! has long been the source of amazing true-life stories about oddities and weird events. Now a traveling exhibit spotlights some of those strange things and reveals the science behind why they occurred.
Put together by Ontario’s Science North and Ripley Entertainment, the exhibit, which checks in at the Great Lakes Science Center this week for a three-month run, is divided into six sections: Extreme Biology, The Wonderful World of Ripley, Weird World, Cultural Practices, Gallery of the Unexpected, and Perceptions & Illusions. You’ll encounter dozens of fascinating anomalies, including the largest snake that ever lived, the world’s tallest man (and how to predict your own height), crystal caves, body modification, shrunken heads, and optical and audio illusions.
You’ll also learn how Robert Ripley started Ripley’s Believe It or Not! as a newspaper column in 1923, which later became a radio show and a TV program. Although Ripley died in 1949, Ripley Entertainment oversees a host of public attractions, a testament to the continuing fascination people have with the unusual.
The exhibit is free with regular admission to the science center: $15 for adults, $12 for kids 2-12.
greatscience.com/the-science-of-ripleys-believe-it-or-not!